"How did you enjoy your first year at Hogwarts then?" Harry Potter asked his youngest niece and nephew as they arrived in front of him with their trunks and Lucy's little cat, Professor Paws. "You didn't get into too much trouble did you?"
One by one, Louis and Lucy gave him a brief hug, all the while Harry was screening the crowd in search of Lily, Hugo and Dominique. "It was really good, Uncle Harry. I got no detentions during the entire year," Louis told him proudly, puffing his chest out slightly. "Lulu got two though."
"At least I didn't get a concussion on my first flying lesson," she retorted snappily.
Harry rolled his eyes and decided to put out of the sparks of an argument before they made a fire. "It doesn't matter now," he told him, trying to sound excitedly. "It's the summer holidays!"
Lucy cheered. "No more homework!"
Louis coughed and gave Harry a little shove. "I think I just saw Lily," he told his uncle.
"There's my little flower," Harry Potter cried as his daughter broke free of the crowd and ran into his arms. Even though she was nearing eighteen, she was still so small in his long arms. "Look at you all grown up," he murmured into her ear as he squeezed her tighter and ran his hands through her long hair. She reminded him so much of Ginny when she was younger, which only made him want to protect her more.
She was quick to push him off her and fix her hair with a shake of her head. "Merlin's beard, you are so embarrassing," she exclaimed, although she quickly fell back into his arms once more. "Where's Mum?"
Adjusting his glasses, Harry patted his daughter's back softly. "She's back at the Burrow getting ready for your Welcome Home party," he told her, practically feeling the roll of his daughter's eyes. "And don't roll your eyes Lily Luna Potter, your mother and aunts have been preparing this party for weeks."
"Sorry Dad," she murmured softly, pulling away to grab her trunk and move it to Lucy's.
"Now where are the last two?" Harry asked, looking around the busy platform.
Kids were all around him, reuniting themselves with their families, hugging and laughing and crying. All the sights and sounds were putting him on edge. Recently the Auror department had been on edge after a potential sighting on Rodolphus Lestrange, which had left Harry not wanting himself or his family to be out in the open for longer than necessary. He just wanted to collect the kids as quickly as possible and get them under the protective wards of the Burrow.
Lily shrugged in response, perching herself on her trunk. "I was patrolling the train for most of the journey. I haven't seen them since my last round," she explained, just as Harry spotted Hugo and Dominique laughing towards him. He caught their attention and tipped his head for them to come to him.
"Hey Uncle Harry," Hugo exclaimed, dropping his trunk and giving his uncle a quick hug. "Where's the rest of the family?"
Dominique laughed, taking her turn to hug her uncle. "Yeah Harry, where's the welcome party?"
He frowned. "You know I hate it when you call me Harry," he sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously. They had been out in the open for too long in his opinion and it was making him anxious. "And your welcome party is waiting for you guys back at the Burrow." He moved to stand behind the five of them, hoping to shepherd them towards the Apparition Point. "Now can we please go because I am starving and the last I smelt, Grandma was cooking up something good?"
"Then what in Albus Dumbledore's name are we waiting for?" Hugo replied animatedly, grabbing his trunk and practically running to the Apparition Point without a care in the world.
###
"Lily!"
Turning around in reaction to her name, Lily was bombarded with the small frame of little Dora, falling into her and clutching onto her leg like a little monkey. "Hey cutie," she cried, reaching down to pick up the not so little bundle and swing her around in a circle before settling her on her hip. "Oh my Merlin, you're so big!" she gasped, tickling her goddaughter until she was left squealing.
"Where is Orpy?" Dora squealed, leaning out of Lily's grip to look around the garden. 'Orpy' was the closest Dora could come to saying Scorpius' name and hearing her say it tugged at her heart. Lily wasn't the only one who missed him.
Trying to hold it together, Lily shrugged her shoulders and attempted a smile. "I don't know cutie! Shall we go and find your little brother?"
Dora squirmed in Lily's arms until she was placed back on the ground and once she was, she grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her hand. As they passed through the kitchen, Lily waved to all the women cooking and even managed to give Grandma a kiss before Dora was dragging her out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Sat on the sofa, trying to break out of his mother's arms, was Theodore William Lupin. He was a perfect little boy with blonde hair and beautiful green eyes that were always so bright. Lily had been in school when he was born, in May during her sixth year. She couldn't believe he was already a year old.
"Oh Lily!" Victoire exclaimed, wrestling Theo as he tried to get out of his mother's arms. "I am bursting for the toilet. Can you look after Theodore for like five minutes?" she sighed, already getting to her feet.
Before Lily could even react and say something, Theodore was passed into her arms and all of a sudden, she was juggling both Dora and Theodore. "Look at my favourite people," she exclaimed, sitting herself down on the sofa and letting Dora roll off and kneel beside her. "You're both so grown up!"
"Mama said imma big girl!" Dora cooed, clapping her hand before leaning over to look at Theodore with wide eyes. "It's Teo," she exclaimed, pointing to her brother who was just sucking on his hand contently.
Lily beamed at her not-so-little goddaughter as she looked at her brother and matched her features to look like Theodore's. "Shall we go and show Theo the balloons in the tent outside?" she asked in a quiet whisper.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Dora exclaimed, jumping off the sofa and spinning around.
Lily laughed, lifting Theodore up as she got to her feet and then placing him on her hip. "Well stop making yourself dizzy and let's go," she exclaimed, holding her hand out for her to take. Dora's little hand gripped hers tightly and began pulling enthusiastically out the door, through the busy kitchen and outside, where a tall tent had been erected in the middle of the garden.
Inside, lanterns levitated around the room. Tables and chairs were dotted in a circle with a clear dance floor in the middle. There were streamers and balloons around the whole tent with a 'WELCOME HOME' handmade sign hanging up on the far side, decorated with what looked like a mountain of glitter.
"Do you decorate the sign Dori?" Lily asked, looking around as friends of the family milling around the edges. Lily recognised her Aunty Luna with the twins, Uncle Neville with Hannah, even her Uncle Charlie, along with loads people who worked with her dad.
"Yep!" Dora cried, jumping up and down. "But Teo 'elped with the glitter!"
"Well it looks amazing." Taking a deep breath in, Lily looked around the tent and felt an unfamiliar smile crawl up on her lips. It felt food to be home, surrounded by lots of family to keep her busy.
"Holy Hippogriff, is that Dora?!" Hugo cried from the other side of the tent, running up to the little girl and swinging her around. "I barely recognised you! You're so big!"
In the cutest way, Dora leaned her head on Hugo's shoulder with a bright smile on her face. With a scrunch on her nose, her long hair changed colour to match Hugo's – Dora's little way of telling him that she missed him. "I'm two now!" she squealed, holding up two little chubby fingers to show Hugo.
"I know," he replied with just as much enthusiasm. "Shall we go and do some colouring?"
Overcome with excitement, Dora wriggled around in Hugo's grip until he released her. Then she went running to the nearest table where her bright pink backpack was.
Lily shuffled Theodore in her arms, who was practically falling asleep against her chest and made her way to join Dora but Hugo stepped in front. "I'll take Theo. James and Alicia just arrived with little Nadene."
"Thanks Hugo," Lily replied, not knowing why it felt so awkward to simply talk to her own cousin. Being careful not to jostle a drowsy Theodore, she passed him over to Hugo and smoothed out her dresses she made her way out of the tent and into the house, following James' bellowing laugh to the kitchen.
Just before Lily had left to go back to Hogwarts for the seventh year, Alicia and James had their first child together, Nadene Grace Potter. The first official Potter 'technically'. She was adorable, with a full head of brown hair, wide hazel eyes and a cute button nose. And she brought out the best in James. Lily had never seen him so happy.
"There's my little sis!" he cried as soon as Lily set foot into the kitchen.
A big grin stretched on Lily's lips as she crossed the small space between them and hugged her big brother. It was funny but his hugs resembled the ones she got from her dad, full of love to the point that it was squeezing out of her. "I missed you Jamie!"
"I missed you too," James replied. "And I hear you're joining the Harpies! Finally a bit of competition in this league. Fred and I are getting bored," he joked, referring to the fact that Lily had accepted a position with her mother's old team, the Holyhead Harpies.
"As long as you're prepared to lose," Lily joked, ducking under his arm as he attempted to ruffle her hair with his big hands.
"You'll get no special treatment from me either," he retorted. "Watch your back for Bludgers."
Their mother's instincts snapped to life. "James Sirius Potter, you will not intentionally maim your sister during games," she told him sharply, pointing the knife she was cutting carrots with in his direction.
The look on James' face was priceless.
"Where's my beautiful niece then?" Lily asked, not spotting Alicia or Nadene in the sea of women hovering around the kitchen.
Immediately James regained his composure. "In the living room." He tugged on her arm and pulled her into the lounge area, already hearing the gurgling laughter of Nadene through the open door. "Babe, the babysitter is here," he called out as they walked through the door.
"Hi Lily," Alicia said from her seat on the sofa as she scooped her hair up in a messy bun. "It's so nice to have you home."
"Thanks," Lily said, moving to give her a hug. "It's good to be back. The castle was a lot quieter without the rest of family causing chaos."
"I bet you actually managed to get some work done then," she joked, lifting Nadene onto her lap from her car seat. "Oh and congratulations on getting into the Harpies."
Blushing slightly, Lily smiled. "Oh yeah thanks. I start training in two days so I'm really exciting."
"Mama!" Nadene squealed, demanding all attention on her.
Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my Merlin, she's talking?!" The last time she had seen Nadene was at Christmas and she had been just getting to grips with crawling. So much had happened in half a year. "It's been so long.
"Oh yeah! Only a couple of words recently but we're very proud," Alicia explained, wiping a bit of drool that was trickling down her daughter's chin. Small chubby hand reaching out to Lily, clenching repeatedly. "I think she wants her Aunty Lily."
With practiced ease, Lily wrapped Nadene up in her arms and tickled her, loving the sound of her high pitched laughter echoing. "You are just so cute," she murmured, running a soft finger across her baby features, tracing the outlines and marvelling at how beautiful she was.
"Come on Ally, the babysitter's here now!" James joked from the door frame, reaching a hand out for Alicia, who got up from the sofa and folded her hand into his.
"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked worriedly, looking back at Lily and her daughter.
Laughing lightly, Lily nodded. "Of course Alice. I'll take her out to play with Theo in the tent. You two just go and have some fun," she encouraged.
"You heard the babysitter," James replied, adding a cheeky wink to Lily. "Let's go and make baby number two!" Alicia swatted her boyfriend as the pair of them left the living room, leaving Lily wishing she had someone like that.
Not for the first time that day, she was left wishing for Scorpius.
###
A hard nudge in the ribs brought Hugo out of his train of thought.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, dropping the crayon that had been poised in his hand. "What was that for?" As he picked the crayon back up, he shot a scowl in Dominique's direction.
"You totally zoned out!" she cried, hitting Hugo in the head with the closest crayon. She shot him her own scowl as she bounced Theodore on her lap and entertained him with a rattle. "What were you thinking about?" she asked.
Hugo laughed lightly and searched for a green crayon to complete his picture. "Nothing. I just got lost in my head. It happens to the best creative minds," he told her, shrugging his shoulders.
"Don't cut me that," Dominique replied, throwing another crayon at him.
Beside Hugo, Dora let out a long sigh and looked up from her colouring book. "Stop throwing the crayons!" she cried with a cute pout on her face. "You are going to hurt someone."
"I'm so sorry Dora," Dominique said with a tiny bit of mocking in her voice. "But your Uncle Hugo isn't telling me the truth."
Dora gasped loudly and screwed her face up angrily, her hands coming to her hips. Bloody hell, she was like her mother, Hugo thought. "Uncle Hugo!" Then she threw a crayon at him too, making both Hugo and Dominique laugh. "Daddy says you must always tell the truth.
"Why don't you go and see Lily and Nadene?" Hugo distracted her, pointing out the two who had just walked into the tent. "Maybe they want to do some colouring too."
Hopping off of her chair, Dora skipped over to Lily, who immediately crouched down to the little girl's level, leaving Dominique free to question Hugo away from prying ears that would happily repeat everything to their parents.
"Spill," Dominique hissed.
Leaning back in his chair, Hugo ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a long breath. "Kaleb wants me to move in with him now that I've finished school," he told his cousin, watching her face intently for her reaction.
A smile stretched her face. "Why do you look so scared? That's a good thing Hugh!" she laughed and Hugo knew she couldn't see the problem staring her straight in the face. "Kaleb's a definite keeper and we're not little kids anymore," she went on to add.
"How am I supposed to explain it to my dad?" he argued back quietly, looking around to check no one was listening. "He nearly had a heart attack when Rosie told him she didn't want a job at the Ministry. How's he going to react to his gay son moving out to be with his older boyfriend?"
"A better question would be how have you not told your dad that you're gay?" Dominique hissed back, leaning in closer.
Blowing the hair out of his face, Hugo frowned hard. "It's not something you just casually bring up over dinner. 'Yeah I had a great day, thanks Dad. By the way I like cock and I'm also moving out.' Somehow I don't think that'll go down too well," he whispered, his voice rising and falling.
In truth, Hugo didn't know how his father would react. A part of him hoped he would accept it, but he had been through so much to simply assume that things would get easier now. He didn't want to disappoint his parents and he definitely didn't want to lose them. So he just kept his secret silent.
Dominique sighed to herself and rearranged Theodore on her lap so she was closer to Hugo. "That's not how that conversation will go down Hugh," she tried to reassure him. "You have nothing to worry about."
"And what if they don't accept me?" Hugo whispered, his voice barely audible over the chatter of the tent.
"That's not going to happen Hugo," she murmured, resting a hand on his leg. "You have nothing to worry about because you are simply amazing. Besides, your family is bigger than just your mum and dad."
Hugo played it off cool and crossed his arms across his chest. "You know I hate it when you make sense!"
At that moment Dora came back to the table with Lily and Nadene in tow. "Look Lily, this is my parrot," she exclaimed, showing Lily her latest colouring masterpiece.
"That's amazing honey," Lily replied quietly, sitting down and helping Dora back onto her seat next to Hugo. "Oh Hugh, your sister just arrived."
"Where is she?" he immediately asked, perking his head up and scanning the tent. He couldn't see her anywhere.
Lily turned Nadene around so that the little girl could doodle with the crayons. "Oh she'll be in soon. Your parents are just grilling her boyfriend," she told him with a small smile.
For Lily, a little smile was better than her usual deadpan.
"Boyfriend?" Dominique exclaimed, blinking in disbelief.
The only boy Rose had ever admitted to liking was Scorpius and there's no way Lily would be acting so calm about it all if that was true. Hugo hadn't heard from his sister in a while so he had no idea who her mystery man could be. But for her to bring him to a family event meant it was pretty serious.
"Here she is now," Lily stated plainly.
Immediately Hugo's attention snapped to the opening of the tent, where Rose had just walked in with a very familiar guy on her arm. "Merlin, it's Max," he murmured, partially in shock because as a gay, he thought Max was extremely good looking.
"Well done Rosie Posie," Dominique muttered softly, starting a slow clap as the couple approached their table. "Congratulations on the Krum, cuz!" she said, standing up with Theodore to give Rose a hug.
"Jealous?" she retorted, pinching Theodore's cheek before moving towards Hugo. "Long time, no see little bro!"
"Where've you been hiding Rose?" he joked, wrapping his sister up in a tight hug. He was taller than her now, he noticed. "Don't answer that, I think I already guessed," he added, indicating to Max who was stood behind Lily.
Rose stepped back and held out her hand for Max. "I don't need to tell you who Max is, but yes he is my boyfriend," she explained, letting Max wrap his arms around her body. "And it had been going on for a while."
"Was he who you were sending owls to all year? Dominique asked, wrestling with Theodore who was getting a bit restless.
Moving to the empty seats by Lily, Rose laughed softly and nodded.
"I was Portkeying from country to country on business so owls were all we had," Max said, pulling his chair closer to Rose's so he could her hand in his lap. "But we made it work."
"Does this mean you've officially moved out of Mum and Dad's now?" Hugo asked, hoping she's say no so he wouldn't feel like he was abandoning his parents too.
Rose shared a glance with Max and smiled. "Oh yeah, finally! We've actually been building a house of our own, which should be done by July, just in time."
"Just in time?" Hugo questioned, alarming Rose judging by the look on her face.
"For a big party we've got planned," Max answered, kissing his girlfriend on the top of her head. At his touch, Rose seemed to relax, just like Kaleb's touch calmed Hugo.
In that moment, he knew his sister had found her little piece of happiness with Max, and he knew his parents had to know about his little piece of happiness too. Hugo didn't want to have to lie and sneak around just to be with Kaleb. He wanted to wake up next to him, fall asleep in his arms and spend all the minutes in between being happy with his boyfriend, just like he deserved.
###
For the first time in a while, Lily was enjoying herself at her 'welcome home' party. The food all the women had made was absolutely delicious. By her third plate, Lily was so full she had to take her belt down a notch. And it was nice to be back with her family; seeing Nadene and Theodore play together; laughing with James and Teddy; even playing a little bit of Quidditch.
Plus the attention wasn't on her.
After dinner, Hugo had finally decided to come out to the family. He stood up with Rose by his side, squeezing his hand tight and told everyone that he was gay, that he was dating Kaleb and that now he was finished with school, he was moving out and living in Brighton with his boyfriend.
Of course all the aunts leapt up from their seats to give him a big hug, telling him he was so brave and that he would be loved no matter who he chose to love himself. Aunt Hermione kissed her son's cheek and started to cry, which made Hugo tear up too. The pair shared a few quiet words and then attention turned to Uncle Ron.
"This doesn't mean you're going to start wearing Rosie's clothes out now, does it?" he asked over the near-silent tent. Lily could tell there was a hint of joking in her uncle's voice, but there was also a hint of seriousness too.
Hugo smirked and moved around the table, letting Rose go. "I'm gay Dad, not a drag queen," he replied, giving his dad a quick side-hug.
"We'll have to meet this Kaleb though," Uncle Ron proclaimed as Aunt Hermione joined him at his side and kissed his blushing cheek.
"You've already met him though," Lily said from the other end of the table. "Kaleb's been here loads of times."
"Not when he was my son's boyfriend though!" Uncle Ron explained shortly, making the whole tent burst into laughter.
The tension in Hugo's body could be seen to fall from his shoulder at his father's acceptance. Obviously it had been something that he had been worrying about and this made Lily sad to dwell on. Even though she had been staying in the same quarters as him at school, she barely knew what he was actually going through.
In summary she had been a shit cousin.
As soon as the family had started partying for real, dancing to the blasting music, Lily found both Hugo and Dominique and apologised for how she had been this past year. She promised them that this was a new start for her and she'd make it up to them somehow. They simply laughed it off and gave her a hug, telling her some Harpies tickets would suffice.
Halfway through the party, Louis came running into the tent, heading straight for Hugo who was dancing and spinning Lily and Dora on a makeshift dance floor. "Hugo, a fire message from Kaleb just came through. He'll be here in ten minutes and he said 'tell your parents'," Louis relayed quickly before heading over to Lucy, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander.
"I'm going to go and fix my hair quickly," Hugo said, giving Dora a kiss on the top of her head and smiling at Lily before leaving the tent.
Then Dora looked up expectantly at Lily with her adorable face. "Who's going to dance with us now?" she asked sweetly.
"Maybe you should go and ask your daddy," Lily replied, watching a smile stretch on the little girl's cute lips. Dora then ran off, leaving Lily to get a drink beside James,
"I forgot to mention earlier, Albus is sorting some business out in London this evening so he'll be a little late," James explained, pouring the pair of them a glass of punch.
Lily took a little sip and winced at the amount of Firewhiskey in her drink. "Has his trip helped him figure out what he wants to do with his life?" she asked, hoping maybe her brother's postcards to James were more informative than her own.
"Absolutely no idea," James shrugged, turning his back on the table to watch the party. "But that trip did help him. Since he's been back, he's been in business meetings, sorting out lots of deals. The only person who knows anything is Dad and he's saying nothing."
Lily sighed – it wasn't exactly the answer she had been hoping for. However it was good news for Albus and she was hoping he was getting his life together finally. "Well there's no getting it out of Dad. Damn Auror!"
"If anyone could do it, it would be you though," he joked, shooting a wink at Lily.
She smirked back in response and finished the rest of her drink in one gulp, holding back the wince. "Let's see if I'm still Daddy's little girl," she retorted, placing the glass back on the table.
"You may have been replaced though, by Dora and Nadene," James called out as Lily started walking away. "Just a little warning!"
She just waved his warning away with a flick of her hand and headed across the tent to the table where her Mum and Dad were sat chatting with Uncle Ron and Uncle Bill. "Hey Dad," she said sweetly, popping herself down on his lap as if she was a cat.
"Hi little flower," he said softly, placing a kiss on her hairline. "What's up?"
"Do you know where Albus is? In his last letter he said he would be here," she said, trying her best to sound innocent.
Harry frowned at her. "I wasn't born yesterday, Lily Luna Potter," he replied with a smirk on his face. "Don't think I don't know that James sent you over here so I'll tell you what I told him. Albus' business is his own and he'll tell you both when he wants to," he explained sternly.
Lily's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Don't worry Lily, Albus hasn't told me yet either," her mother told her, smiling over her bottle of Butterbeer. "That boy is just so secretive. Gets it from his father."
Uncle Bill burst out laughing, nearly spitting his drink out all over the table. "No, he hasn't told you because he knows you can't keep a secret for shit. You always used to tell on us to Mum!"
"He's right sis," Uncle Ron seconded, nudging his sister jokingly. "Lily," he then asked seriously while her mum and dad argued over if she was good at keeping secrets, which was definitely wasn't. "Have you seen Hugo? Louis said that his boyfriend is coming over soon."
Lily hopped off her dad's lap. "He just headed inside to go and meet him."
Uncle Ron clapped his hands together. "Well go and hurry them up because I have a lot of questions," he said with a hint of humour in his voice.
Sending a sweet smile to everyone at the table, Lily headed out of the ten and across the garden, flicking her curls off her shoulder. As she entered the house thought the kitchen, she heard voices, distinctly Hugo. "Hugh, your dad wants you to stop kissing Kaleb long enough so he can ask him …" Lily trailed off as she stepped into the living room, coming up short at who was standing behind Kaleb.
"Hi Lily," Scorpius breathed in his husky low voice. Even after a year of not seeing each other, his voice could still send shivers down her spine and turn her insides to mush.
Hugo sucked in a breath and rocked back on his heels. "I think you meeting my parents will be less awkward than this conversation," he murmured to Kaleb, taking his hand and dragging him out of the room, leaving Lily alone with Scorpius.
Lily knotted her hands together behind her back and stared at the floor, flickering her gaze up to look at him through her eyelashes. "What are you doing here Scorpius?" she asked softly, her voice barely louder than a whisper. As she said his name, she felt her heart clench and her stomach jump.
Pushing himself away from the fireplace, he took a step closer and revealed and file of parchment. "I need your dad's signature on a few things," he answered, tapping the file against his leg awkwardly.
"I'll go and get him for you," Lily murmured, eager to leave so the pain in her chest after seeing him so lifeless would stop. Taking a step back, she made to leave.
Immediately he reached out for her. "Wait Lily!" he called out and she quickly froze, the pain in his voice making her heart drop and ache for him. "Can I just talk to you for a minute?" he asked, quickly crossing the room so he was less a metre from her.
"What's left to say Scorpius?" she retorted, gulping past the thickness in her throat. She hated to be so rude to him. "We're over. What we had was nothing more than silly teenage puppy love. It's time to move on and grow up."
He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, allowing Lily to see the tension in his strained neck and admire the face she admittedly still loved. When he opened his eyes again, her gaze was fixed on the floor, her thoughts focusing on anything but the desire to have his arms around her safely.
"I've always been able to tell you when you were lying," Scorpius said calmly, the familiar Malfoy smirk stretching across his face. "Up until now, I actually believed you didn't love me anymore."
Lily felt salty tears burn the corners of her eyes as they built up. "Why is so hard for you to believe that I may not love you anymore?" she said quietly, her cracking under the lie.
"Because I know the difference between what you say with your heart and what you say with your head," he told her in a soft and comforting voice that seemed to caress her just as much as his touch would have done. "Plus you always play with your hair when you lie," he added, nodding to Lily's hand twiddling her curls.
She hadn't even realised she had been doing it and as soon as he brought it up, she snapped her hands to her sides, frowning at him through teary eyes. "I can't be with you Scorpius," she said, barely keeping it together. After all this time apart, she had hoped she wouldn't be so emotional the next time they met. But it was like falling in love with him all over again.
He took a step closer and his hand reached up to twist one of her curls around his finger. "Why not?" he whispered, a finger grazing her cheek and leaving her skin tingling. "Why can't you just admit that you still love me?"
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she retorted, feeling the hot tears burst their banks and fall down her face. The one thing she didn't want to do was cry in front of him; she hated to show how hurt she was.
His grey eyes softened as they looked at Lily. "I love you Lil," he murmured quietly, his voice breaking in pain. Lily sobbed hard, hating him for using her nickname. "I only want to be with you. There hasn't been and there never will be anyone else for me, you're it!"
"I don't want to hear this," Lily sobbed, backing away as he made to reach for her. "This isn't fair." Not being able to control her emotions, not being able to stop the tears from falling, Lily ran out of the house, heading for Grandpa's shed behind the tent.
"Lily wait!" Scorpius called out from somewhere behind her.
All of sudden there was a whoosh in the air, causing Lily to look to the sky. She saw black figures speed past on brooms, their wands aimed at her. Lights flashed brightly, stunning Lily. Immediately afterwards, her vision blew up in flames as the tent caught on fire and sent her flying back onto the ground. She landed on her ankle and crumpled to the ground, the fire hot on her face, her cries lost over the screams from inside.
Her family.
"Lily! Lily! Are you ok?" Scorpius cried, instantly at her side and shielding her from the fire. "Baby talk to me."
She rolled over and tried to get to her feet. "I'm fine Scorpius," she sniffed, pushing off the ground. "Go and help everyone else!" The screams were filling up her ears.
"Not until I get you to safety," he exclaimed, lifting her off the ground. Her ankle twisted and she cried out in pain.
"I'm sorry Lil," he murmured, kissing her softly on the head and placing her on the garden bench. Then he darted into the burning tent without a second thought.
"Please don't die," she whispered, biting down on her lip as flames eclipsed her vision.
###
The door was pushed open and James trudged into the private waiting room at St Mungo's, his face dark and grubby with soot. Before the door was even closed behind him, everyone was on their feet (or trying to in Lily's case), bombarding him with questions and demanding to know what was going on.
"How's Harry?"
"Is Teddy ok?"
"What's wrong?"
"Is Alicia alright?"
"Has something happened to mum?"
"Can you all just shut up please?" James exclaimed, wincing in pain and holding his hands up to warn people away from him. "I'll tell you everything I know if you give me a chance. Has someone got a hold of Albus?"
With his arms around both Lily and Hugo, Kaleb spoke up. "He's not at home and I couldn't find him at the restaurant but I left a note at home so he'll be here when he gets that," he explained, supporting as her sprained ankle buckled.
"Ok, well Dad has a couple of burns to his back and arms. They've put him under so they can reset his shoulder but he was talking before the potions so it's looking positive," James started and instantly Lily relaxed, feeling the tension fall out of her body.
Her dad, the man who tried to save everyone in the tent, was going to be ok.
"Teddy's fine too. His burns are mostly superficial and they are just dressing them now," James continued, scratching the back of his head agitatedly. "Aunt Hermione is alright too. The falling pole broke her leg but that seems to be the worst of it," he added.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Hugo relax into Kaleb. Rose seemed to have the same reaction on Max, who just softly ran a hand through her hair. All the small signs of affection made Lily wish Scorpius was with her and not wandering the fields around the Burrow in search of who did this.
Pushing thought of him away, Lily hobbled forward, holding onto Lucy until she reached James, who had his head dipped low. Everyone else had gone off on their own conversations but Lily knew something was wrong with her older brother. "Is it Alicia?" she murmured, leaning on him so Lucy could go and be with the rest of the family.
"It's not good Lils," he whispered, his voice cracking with silent sobbing. Thick tears dropped to his cheeks as he turned slightly, his head dipping into the crook of her shoulder. "They're saying she was in the tent for too long and she has smoke inhalation. She can't breathe properly and she's constantly on oxygen, it's like her lungs are shutting down. Plus the burns …" he trailed off, seeming to break into a hundred sobs.
Struggling under the weight of her Beater brother, Lily lowered the pair of them to the floor, ignoring the sharp pain shooting up her leg. In the middle of the waiting room, she simply sat there and hugged her brother until his tears ran dry. Many of the family made to approach them but she just shook her head at them – James needed to let it all out now so he could take care of Alicia and Nadene.
It took a while but James finally ran dry of tears and pulled back from Lily, wiping his damp cheeks on his sleeve. "The Healers said they would do everything they could but it's likely that the burns to her face will scar," he murmured quietly.
Lily sighed and cradled his scruffy cheek with her hand. "If you didn't like Alicia like we all know you do, you wouldn't have continually asked her out for five year, despite her rejecting you. Now is the time you prove to her that you fell for her because of who she is and not what she looked like. She's still Alicia, your girlfriend, Nadine's mother. Nothing's changed really."
James looked back at her and cracked a little smile. "Since when did you get so smart, little Lils?"
###
Collecting his coat from the cloakroom of the restaurant, Albus exited out onto the busy streets of London with a massive smirk on his face. If that meeting had gone any better, the guy would have kissed his shoes and bowed as he left the place. Everything was falling into place, like pieces of a puzzle that didn't make sense before, were finally fitting together. Except for one missing puzzle piece.
As he turned off into a dark alleyway, looking around to check that a homeless man wasn't about to see him use magic, he imagined her house and pictured it in the front of his mind, forgetting everything else. Then he Disapparated, finding himself at the bottom of her garden path, looking up at the tall house. Fixing his coat to fight the cold air coming off the Devonshire beach behind him, he headed up to the front door, taking deep breaths to push out his nerves.
It had been a year and a half since he'd seen her, but she was her missing puzzle piece. He just knew it.
He knocked on the door and then took a step back, waiting patiently to hear footsteps approach the door. From inside, he heard her shout "I'll get it Mum," and his stomach did a little flip inside him. A lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a beautiful but slightly confused Ariana.
"Albus?" she gasped, clearly leaning on the door for support.
Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and smiled down at her. She hadn't grown much since he last saw her, although her features seemed older. Her eyes burned a bright brown, like melting chocolate, while her skin glowed and her long brown hair shone in its beautiful waves that made Albus want to run his fingers through it. The wind blew once more and he caught a whiff of her perfume, the same one she wore whilst they dated.
"Albus? What are you doing here?" she repeated, having regained a little composure whilst Albus was gawking.
"Oh sorry," he muttered, scuffing his shoe on the path and burying his hands in his pockets. "You look really good," he admitted, feeling his confidence come back now he had seen her in the flesh.
She allowed herself a little smile before she pulled it back and resumed her neutral, emotionless expression. "That doesn't explain why you are here Albus."
"I was just wondering if we could go for a chat. You've been ignoring my owls," he explained, pushing the hair that was falling over his face from the wind. "I really need to talk to you Ari. To explain everything and to apologise."
She sighed softly, his chest moving up and down with such fluidity, it made Albus fight to just grab her by her hips and pull her into his body. "Did it occur to you that I may have been ignoring your owls for a reason?"
Albus' stomach dropped. "What's wrong? Are you seeing someone else? Will they not like you just talking to me?" he asked, eager for answers. This wasn't going like he had planned.
"No I'm not seeing someone," she replied, and Albus saw a light at the end of the tunnel, letting out a long breath. "But I still don't want to talk to you."
"If there's no one else, what's stopping you?" he persisted, not giving up. This was his missing puzzle piece. He wasn't about to find her and let her go. His time away had taught him what was most treasured and he knew he needed to be with Ariana. She was the only one who made sense to him. "What's stopping us?" he added.
"I'm stopping us Albus," she replied curtly, resting her head on her front door. "I won't let you hurt me again. My heart barely survived last time and I can't put myself through that again when you decide to leave me again."
Albus' heart well and truly dropped. "I'm so sorry for that Ariana. I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what I put you through. I thought I was keeping you safe but I didn't think things through properly," he rambled, wanting to get everything out before she closed the door on him. "I love you so much Ariana May and as much as I've tried, I can't stop. Every part of my heart and body loves you and needs you, just as much as it needs oxygen."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry Albus but I can't go through this again," she said in her soft voice. "Goodbye." And before he could fight it, put his foot in the doorway or reach for her hand, the door was slammed shut and Albus was left alone on her doorstep.
With his head hung low, he trudged back down the garden path, reaching the gate and picturing his house. This time he didn't bother to look around before he Disapparated. He landed on the steps just outside his house and with his key, let himself in. He needed to pick up some of the presents he had gotten Lily and the others whilst he was travelling.
A note caught his attention on the big black TV. Walking over he pulled it off and scanned the rapid scrawl of Kaleb's. "Fuck!" he shouted, before Apparated directly to St Mungo's.
So much for everything falling into place.
Author's Note: Again, sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Not only is university really busy this year but my laptop has broken so I can't type up my stories at home. The only reason this is out is because I had to go into university and type it up. But I love this chapter so it was worth it. I hope you really liked it too. Things are about to kick it in every sense of the word.
Let me know what you thought of it with a little review. I love reading them and they usually inspire me so do it :D
